-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos borrowed from Dr. Evil 's master plan for the technology behind his newly announced Kindle Touch e-reader : It uses frickin ' laser beams .

Introduced on Wednesday , the Kindle Touch will be the first Amazon e-reader with a touch screen . It costs $ 189 for a version with 3G cellular connectivity or $ 139 with Wi-Fi only . For a version with ads , those prices drop to $ 149 and $ 99 , respectively .

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has defended the lack of a touch screen on previous Kindle models , saying conventional touch displays produce reflections . A major selling point for the Kindle is that it can be read in direct sunlight like a printed book , an argument Amazon has used in Kindle ads poking fun at tablets .

`` The current technology for touch screens -- it 's called capacitive touch -- is a layer that goes on top of that display . It adds glare , '' Bezos said in an interview last year on the `` Charlie Rose '' TV talk show . `` We want a device that 's uncompromised for reading . ''

Capacitive touch is what 's used in most smartphones and tablets , including virtually all Android devices , the iPhone , iPad and newer BlackBerrys . It 's also the technology embedded in Amazon 's new $ 199 Kindle Fire , a multimedia tablet .

Applying a capacitive-touch layer to e-ink , the black-and-white display that looks like paper , darkens the screen , said Sriram Peruvemba , an executive for E Ink , the company that makes the popular screens in e-readers , in an interview on Wednesday .

For that reason , the Kindle Touch relies on infrared sensors , which are stationed along the edges around the screen to detect when the user 's finger touches a particular spot on the device 's face , an Amazon spokeswoman said .

Tapping on most parts of the screen turns pages , rather than clicking a button like on the other Kindles . Amazon says the sensors allow for multitouch usage , meaning people can move multiple fingers at once to manipulate the screen , much like other touchscreen gadgets .

Despite its success with the market-leading Kindle , Amazon is n't the first to apply these invisible lasers , commonly used in TV remotes , to reading devices .

Barnes & Noble implemented the same technology to bring touch screen capability to its Nook . Sony 's recent e-readers , including a new model that will hit stores next month , also have infrared on their bezels . In an interview last month , Phil Lubell , a Sony vice-president , boasted about the company 's innovation in that area and said Barnes & Noble had copied it .

Amazon 's competitors appear committed to this touch screen technology , going so far as to shelve button-operated e-readers .

Amazon will continue to sell two versions of the Kindle without touch screens . The base model , called simply Kindle , ranges from $ 79 to $ 109 and has only a few buttons . Another , Kindle Keyboard , costs $ 99 to $ 139 and looks just like its predecessor , the Kindle 3 .

Touch features sap a device 's battery life , Peruvemba said . Amazon may have accounted for that by including a bigger battery on the Touch because that model lasts for two months , which is double the battery life of the smaller Kindle , according to Amazon 's specification page .

Bezos is confident a market exists for both his touch screen and keyboard models .

`` We have many customers who tell us they do n't want touch , '' Bezos reportedly said at the news conference in New York on Wednesday . `` We 're going to sell many millions of these . ''

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Amazon 's Kindle Touch uses infrared sensors to avoid screen glare

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Jeff Bezos had previously said no to touch screen Kindles due to limitations

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Other e-readers from Sony and Barnes & Noble already use infrared